How intelligent is an octopus?
John Castro
Updated on May 15, 2026
Yet octopuses are extremely intelligent, with a larger brain for their body size than all animals except birds and mammals. They are capable of high-order cognitive behaviors, including tool use and problem-solving, even figuring out how to unscrew jar lids to access food.
Is an octopus more intelligent than a dog?
There's a strong likelihood that an octopus is as smart as your average dog. Research has shown that the brain capacity of a giant Pacific octopus is roughly the same as that of a dog. In fact, octopuses like to play with dog toys!Can octopus recognize humans?
Studies have confirmed that octopuses can tell people apart, even those who are wearing identical uniforms. As Godfrey-Smith points out, “This ability makes sense if an animal is social or monogamous, but octopuses are not monogamous, have haphazard sex lives and do not seem to be very social.”Is octopus most intelligent?
In particular, the Coleoidea subclass (cuttlefish, squid, and octopuses) is thought to be the most intelligent invertebrates and an important example of advanced cognitive evolution in animals, though nautilus intelligence is also a subject of growing interest among zoologists.How smart is the average octopus?
Scientists have found that octopuses can navigate their way through mazes, solve problems quickly and remember those solutions, at least for the short term. To find out more about octopus intelligence, we spoke to Jennifer Mather, a comparative psychologist at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada.Octopuses Are Ridiculously Smart
Which animal has highest IQ?
1: ChimpanzeeTopping our list of smartest animals is another great ape, the chimpanzee. The impressive intellectual abilities of this animal have long fascinated humans.